This is a video on how to train your dog not to surf the counters or in other words put their paws up and eat food and items that are on your counters.
Remember to keep in mind that during training, items that your dog likes should NOT be left in reach on counters so that you don't UNDO all the training you have just been doing. As nagging a turkey off the counter WILL train your dog to do it again!
At the beginning of the video you will see Tug my new puppy BEFORE I trained him, he would jump up and onto tables to lick them clean. At the end of the video you can see the results of one session that was a couple minutes long.
Tips:
1- Make sure the dog NEVER gets the food- it sounds obvious but some dogs are very FAST!
2- If he is struggling to look away from the food, either give him a hint by making an attention noise or take some steps away so he is not as close to the food
3- As he succeeds raise criteria
4- You can start off first with a carrot on the table but the reinforcement is something even better like Chicken
5- Watch my 'leave it' video for more information on teaching the leave it
Visit our website: http://dogmantics.com/
Buy our new ebook: http://dogmantics.com/store/
Become a fan on facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Dogmantics-Dog-Training/75289166216
SUBSCRIBE TO THIS CHANNEL TO SHOW YOUR SUPPORT! We appreciate it:
http://www.youtube.com/subscription_center?add_user=kikopup
Dog training clicker training manners teaching a dog to not touch food on counters counter surfing stealing food
Great video Emily:). Teaching an environmental leave it really works:). I can leave Kaine alone with my food (steak included) and he will not touch it. I think counter surfing dogs are good in the sense that they help teach us to clean up after ourselves too:).
very timely video! kali has been really crazy with counter surfing. she will eat anything and she often gets into things she should not have, like the copper pot scrubber:( tonight we were out in the woods and she grabbed something, i reached in her mouth as she was trying to swallow it and pulled out a half rotten paint brush head!!
great video…youre very informative and i enjoy watching the way that you train your dogs…=)
@hunkymonkeykaine
that is true! we become more conscious of what we leave lying around and learn to clean up after ourselves. husbands are harder to train though, mine leaves things that are sometimes very dangerous sitting on the edge of the counter 🙁
I keep working on this, especially now that there are 2 dogs that can get everything. However, it is a difficult task with little kids and also adults who aren’t conditioned themselves to not leave temptations. Each time the pups succeed in getting a yummy treat, it’s a big setback. But you’ve helped motivate me again! Thanks!
What a great idea! I love how Tug would look at the food when he was just wandering around at the end and did not even care to get it. I think that Isabelle would have snatched it right up when I was not looking. 🙂 It is so awesome to see how a behavior problem that so many people struggle with can be solved so simply and without FORCE or stressing the dog out by saying NO, Yelling, etc… This will help so many dog owners! Love it! Love it!
Such a great video & footage!! Very informative.
Thanks for sharing.
You’re doing a great job with Tug! He’s so lucky.
Excellent Video, as always. Dogs learn so much better when they work it out for themselves. Well Done!
I love how Kiko walks up…sees you are working with Tug and automatically lays down and away from you guys 😉
great as always, I like how you mention proofing…this is som’thing alot of people forget
I just love this video. It’s terrific. I love all your videos and refer people to them all the time! Thanks so much for an awesome job! Andrea
Emily, I have a problem with River eating and searching for food on the floor every time we visit my parent’s house. She’s always finding something in the hidden spots of their house left over from my nieces/nephews. Any tips? It can be dangerous!
I am following this method. My puppy already has a pretty good default leave it for treats on the floor. She is doing well during the sessions. However, after we finish the session and I pick up the plate of food and take it away, she instantly surfs the area where it was (today it was on a chair). I can’t always prevent this. I’m afraid that even the sniffing is keeping the behavior reinforced. Comments?
Thank you! I have a puppy and he counter surfs for anything! He will take paper, or anything he can get. He has figured how to open drawers, and takes clothes too, but hopefully this will help!
This is very helpful 🙂 My chihuahua mix jumps up onto our dining room chairs to get to food on the table. Thank you!
Do you have any suggestions for what to do about toilet paper/paper/books? My two 9-month goldendoodles seem to be infatuated with paper. I’ve brought out paper and crumpled it up and done a ‘leave it’ exercise. They won’t touch the paper if I’m around and have treats, but I can’t go a day without finding a shredded up piece of paper!
I have to say – I LOVE your videos. My pup Dexter (8 month old American Eskimo) responds so much better to your methods than any others I’ve come across. The problem we’re running into now is not so much counter surfing (though we’re still working on that) but stealing clothes, door stops, paper, basically anything that is not nailed down. I’ve tried training him on what to do in each room of the house, but he always seems to find scenarios where I have not thought of something. I left my shoes up on the bed while I was getting ready and no sooner turned my back then he was gone with them in his mouth. I keep reinforcing the positive by giving him a toy or chew instead, but I can’t just ignore him running away with my socks. Any tips on training him for what is “his” to enjoy?
This was very helpful to me. I have a labradoodle puppy that loves to counter surf. I was using the leave it command it has been working okay. I like what you are doing much better. Because you are correct if I’m not present I’m not so sure if he will leave it alone or not. So I’m going to start training the way you have in this video. I feel like your method is the way to go. I love your training methods. I will have to go back to the start on some of my training. Because I have followed other training methods from other trainers. Your training works much better on my puppy. So thanks so much. Please keep making videos. My puppy and I thank you so much.
Awe thanks. 🙂 Well, I know that the “commercial” or fast food version of dog training seems appealing… You dont have to do much effort, you see something you dont like and say EH-EH! or whatever… Easy for us to do. But the best methods based on applied behavior analysis require some planning and training set ups 🙂
How do you get him to choose you and your food vs. just taking what is on the table without pulling him away from the food if he goes for the food on the floor or table? (I am working with my now year old rescued at 6 mo. Golden Retriever who is food OBSESSED). I also would like to know how to transfer this skill to outside because he eats the seed pods from our Sweet Gum trees — tons of them.. Thank you SO much for your videos!!!
Do you have a video that helps when this behavior is simply due to curiosity or a desire to be higher up?
My dog just likes to “check out” what’s up on counters. I’m finding it hard to proactively redirect him because he’s not doing it for food.
I’d love to see how you manage the counter surfing/leave the food with a very excited, food oriented pup like my lab. I truly don’t think she would pay any attention to me with that food in close proximity. Thoughts?
Comment on a more recent video